Dick Smith to close remaining doors for good

Mr Harvey said Dick Smith's profits evaporated years ago, prompting then-owner Woolworths to sell the business on the cheap to private equity firm Anchorage Capital in 2012.

"Then five minutes later this bloke [Anchorage Capital] dresses it up and sells it for $500 million [in 2013], and I'm looking at this and saying 'I don't believe this, this business is stuffed'... I'm thinking I wouldn't buy these shares for 10¢, let alone $2," he said.

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"I'm looking at all this and thinking to myself: the world has gone mad."

The Harvey Norman founder said while some people might claim Anchorage Capital still had a moral, if not a legal, obligation, he didn't believe the private equity firm cared.

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"My opinion is they [Anchorage Capital] will never give back 2¢ ... Now an individual might do that [provide some financial support] - Clive Palmer might even do that - but I doubt private equity will do it," he said.

His comments come as Harvey Norman reported a 30.7 per cent jump in first-half profit to $185.5 million.

Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey: "It is years since I've looked at the figures and got so excited." Photo: Nic Walker

Sales across Harvey Norman franchise stores rose $193.8 million to $2.72 billion for the six months ended December 31.

Sales of lifestyle and homemaker goods such as furniture, bedding and whitegoods have been boosted by buoyant new home construction and strong house prices in Australia.

"Solid activity in the housing sector, higher home prices, lower unemployment and low interest rates are all supportive of continuing housing development and dwelling and retail spending," the company said.

Australians broke ground on a record 211,860 new homes in 2014-15, up 13 per cent on the previous record of 187,000 set in 1994. The Housing Industry Association is tipping the 2015-16 year to exceed 200,000 new home starts.

Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Simotas said the result was strong across all retail divisions.

"Weak cashflow is our only criticism, but this company has a track record of delivering on cash over the long term ... we expect meaningful consensus upgrades," he said in a note.

Harvey Norman's Irish business turned a profit of $800,000, up from a loss of almost $5 million in the same period last year, while the Asian business swung to a $5.5 million profit, from a $10.9 million loss last year.